


I'll be your light

by PerriewinkleNerdie



Category: Open Heart (Visual Novels)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-25
Updated: 2020-03-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:22:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23317561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PerriewinkleNerdie/pseuds/PerriewinkleNerdie
Summary: It's good that his wife is there to pick him up when he stumbles
Relationships: Ethan Ramsey/Main Character (Open Heart)
Kudos: 36





	I'll be your light

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, hello, hello!  
> I've had this one sitting on my PC for at least two weeks, and finally got to posting it. It's fluff. Like, fluff on fluff, literally no plot at all, just fluff.  
> Enjoy! <3

The moment he walked into the hospital that day as the clock striked the sixth hour, he knew that he was in for a long one. Pressure in his skull was beginning to irritate the living light out of him, causing his vision to be blurred around the edges. By the time he managed to dig through a couple of his responsibilities, he had already taken painkillers twice, and it didn’t seem like it would be the last time.

Claire’s path crossed his around noon, and the second her eyes landed on him, she knew something was not right. Their gazes met for a split second, just long enough for him to notice her nodding slightly, a secret signal they came up with to let the other know that they wanted to talk in his office.

His body fell into his office chair with a heavy thud, standing out against the muffled sounds of the life of the hospital on the other side of the door, the never-ending string of words, the endless series of signals. He vaguely noticed the soft sound of door opening and closing, the gentle steps that led to his desk.

Her cool fingers touched his temples, massaging his skin with tender touch, wordlessly giving him what he needed to survive the day. An action so simple that many could dismiss it as unnecessary but welcomed by him with a low hum.

“Did you drink water?” her voice remained nothing more than a whisper, answered only by something awfully close to a whine. “Do you want some tea? Cause I assume you already took painkillers.”

Gathering what was left of his energy, he muttered how much he loved her, how she was a saint. As soundlessly as she could, she placed the mug on his desk and bent down, kissing the top of his head, her breath warm against his skin.

“Actually, I’m your wife. But ‘saint’ works too I guess.”

\------------

Claire’s fingers tightened around the steering wheel, knuckles turning white as she bit her lip to remain absolutely silent. She had to be, she couldn’t so much as say a loud word, but in her head, she was screaming, using just about every profanity she knew, in any language she knew. Ethan was sleeping in the seat next to hers, and she was in the dead center of the worst traffic she has seen in a while. All because some idiot clearly found his driver’s license in a bag of chips and didn’t know the basic rules. They were supposed to be home thirty minutes ago, but instead here they were, and from the way things were at the moment, they would be home in an hour at best.

In her peripheral vision she saw Ethan stirring in his sleep, and once she turned her head to look at him, she noticed how his face twisted at what he saw in his sleep. Her hand found its way to his cheek, careful and mindful of its movement, while her other hand kept the car’s trajectory stable. Sensing her presence near him calmed him down, stilled his movement and he seemed to fall back into the deeper sleep.

They were almost out of traffic when he woke up, confused about where he was or what was happening. She grinned briefly, amused by his behavior almost as much as worried. Tapping her fingers impatiently against the smooth material of the steering wheel, she leaned sideways to see how many more cars they had ahead of them before they could finally get home. Her action caught Ethan’s attention, sparking his interest as he finally began dissecting the situation around them.

“How long have we been in this traffic?”

“Almost two hours now. At first, I thought that it would go quickly, two cars crashed against one another, nothing too serious. But people are dumb, and there were two more crashes as people driving by the first accident didn’t pay attention and caused another one.” she recalled the last two hours of her life, shaking her head in frustration. “It’s good you woke up when you did.”

“Why?”

“Cause I’ve been keeping quiet for so long that if I have to bite it down one more time to keep myself from opening the window and screaming at some asshole to start using their brain if they have one, I’ll lose it.” All on one breath, the words rushed past her lips, leaving her tired and struggling to catch any oxygen for a short moment. He placed his hand on her shoulder, squeezing lightly. His thumb traced the line of the column of her neck in an attempt to calm her down.

“Thank you for letting me sleep. I don’t know what’s going on, it should pass soon.” He spoke slowly, keeping his eyes trained on her, allowing him to see her cheeks lift slightly when she smiled. “I mean it. Thank you for taking care of me.”

She glanced at him briefly, her eyes sparkling with affection, running deep within her. He burst out laughing when, as soon as she looked back at the situation on the road ahead of them, she slammed her fist against the steering wheel, cursing.

\------------

“Ethan?” her voice broke through the thick mist of the tangle of his thoughts. He looked up from his spot on the couch, expecting to see her ready for bed, but instead was met with a sight of his wife in her bathrobe. She crossed the room, crouching next to his head, her fingers brushing the stray lock of his hair away from his face. “Come with me.”

“I’d say ‘anywhere’, but if you want to drag me to bed to watch some movie, that will be a ‘no’ for me, Darling.” He muttered, a slyly grinning at her. A sound of air leaving her lungs was loud in the otherwise quiet room. Her hand took his, pulling him up from the couch gently, wrapping her arm around him and guiding him to the bathroom.

The bathtub was filled with hot water, the lights turned off, the room illuminated with a few candles. Ethan turned around, just in time to see Claire let the bathrobe fall to the ground, revealing her naked body underneath. She came closer to him, helping him take his clothes off, and then hugged herself to him, a silent moment of perfect comfort. He inhaled her scent, taking a deep breath, letting the feeling of her next to him calm his senses and relax his muscles.

Without saying a word, they got into the bathtub, sinking into the hot water with a breathless sigh. She sat behind him, his back to her front, her hands washing his body gently. Snaking her arms around his chest, she pulled him back against her, lying down together. Neither knew how long they remained that way, the closeness far too comfortable to leave it behind. After what seemed like eternity, he turned around in her arms, lying down with his head on her chest, holding her as close to him as he possibly could.

She raised her hand out of the water, away from his side, and began running her fingers through his hair, massaging his scalp. He nuzzled into her even more, like he was afraid to let her get even an inch away from him, as though the thought of her leaving was unbearable to him.

“I really love you.” he muttered under his breath, pressing his lips to the skin of her neck and letting them stay there, breathing deeply.

“I know you do. I love you too.” She hugged him closer, her grip on him stronger, to show him she was there. To express to him that she wasn’t going anywhere. There wasn’t a single thing that could take her away from him. “Are you okay?”

The only answer she got was a nod, barely palpable, and another kiss, much softer, a barely-there touch that sent sparks throughout her body.

They remained submerged in the water until it ran cold, and even then, they didn’t want to move. It was Claire’s decision to move them to bed, to avoid getting sick. She stood up, getting two towels from the shelf, passing one to his extended hand. He wrapped the soft material around her body, drying her tenderly, paying attention to every curve of her body that he loved. She returned the gesture, standing on the tips of her toes to reach his head, patting his face dry, then moving down his chest, and then finally draping the towel over his shoulders, the same way he did for her.

He helped her get into her nightgown and she helped him into his nightwear. The silence spoke volumes, their actions screamed the amount of love they had for each other, and once they finally fell into bed together and got under the covers, their minds were halfway gone, just barely registering what was happening around them. Ethan pulled her closer to him, pressing his lips to her forehead in a warm kiss, smiling the same way she did.


End file.
